Chronic kidney disease a rising burden on Australia’s hospitals—and set to worsen

Hospitalisations related to chronic kidney disease (CKD) are
increasing, and look likely to remain a significant burden to
Australia's health care system, according to a report released
today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

People with CKD require extensive hospital services,
particularly those with end-stage kidney disease who need regular
dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive.

The report, Chronic kidney disease hospitalisations in
Australia 2000-01 to 2007-08, shows that CKD contributed to
almost 1.2 million hospitalisations in Australia in 2007-08, one
million of which were for regular dialysis.

'This was about 15% of all hospitalisations for that year, with
dialysis treatment the most common reason for hospitalisation in
Australia,' said Frances Green, of the Institute's Cardiovascular,
Diabetes and Kidney Unit.

Between 2000-01 and 2007-08, the number of hospitalisations for
regular dialysis increased by about 70%-an average of nearly 60,000
hospitalisations per year.

While it has been estimated that as many as 1 in 7 Australians
aged 25 years and over have some degree of CKD, the disease is much
more common among the elderly, and hospitalisation rates are
highest among those aged over 70 years.

'Although some of the increase in hospitalisations for CKD can
be attributed to the ageing of the population, even after adjusting
for age these increases remain,' Ms Green said.

'A common cause of CKD is diabetes, and it is likely that the
increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, as well as the ageing
population, will result in further increases in CKD
hospitalisations over time.'

The report shows that men were 1.6 times as likely as women to
be hospitalised for regular dialysis, while Indigenous Australians
were hospitalised at 11 times the rate of their non-Indigenous
counterparts.

Australians living in remote areas were also more likely to be
hospitalised for CKD than those living in major cities.

CKD is a long-term health condition where a person has kidney
damage and/or reduced kidney function lasting for 3 months or
more.